How far the one time, or rather the one year, mighty Atlanta Thrashers have fallen. The team that once featured a line of Ilya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard and Marian Hossa are coming off their second straight losing season in 2008-09 and have only one player remaining from that All-Star loaded forward line from 2005-06, Russian superstar and captain Ilya Kovalchuk.Kovalchuk, as pictured on the right is the face of the franchise in Atlanta but this year will certainly provide an interesting year for the number one overall pick in the 2001 Draft. To put it simple, he's sick of losing and is in a contract year. In his case, have the Thrashers begun to try and build a solid team around the winger to solidify his allegiance to the only club he's ever known?
This summer, following a disappointing 35-41-6 season Thrashers GM Don Waddell sat down face-to-face with Kovalchuk and had what he called "constructive" talks with the winger. Kovalchuk, the heart and soul of Atlanta's franchise has been continued his strong play despite the team's lack of success as he is coming off his fifth straight 40+ goal season in Georgia. However, if the team is destined to falter yet again in 2009-10, will Waddell capitalize on Ilya's value in a trade as he did with Marian Hossa in 2008?
Before those talks begin, one needs to take a look at the relatively new look Atlanta Thrashers.
The biggest hope out in Atlanta this year is that first round draft choice Evander Kane will live up to the hype he was praised with throughout his tenure with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. It's not all hype however, as the 18-year old Kane broke the Giants single season record for goals when he put 48 by WHL netminders. He also added 48 assists, finishing with 96 points in 61 games on top of having a very strong World Juniors Championship with Team Canada.
Evander, named after former heavyweight Boxing champion Evander Holyfield will certainly get his nine games with the Thrashers to begin the season. As you are probably familiar with considering how the Bruins handled Milan Lucic in his rookie campaign, players under the age of 20 are given a nine game trial of sorts if you will before the team has to make a decision to either keep the player with the club or send him back to his juniors teams as the teenagers of tomorrow are not permitted to play in the AHL.
Regardless of how Kane performs for those nine games, the Thrashers also added 6'7 forward Nik Antropov to their roster. The 29-year old Kazakh is coming off a career year where he tallied 59 points between the Maple Leafs and Rangers. The right winger is sure to bolster the Thrashers rather weak right side attack and contribute effectively on the powerplay.
Joining Antropov is former fellow Maple Leaf teammate and Southeast Division alumni Pavel Kubina. Acquired in a deal that sent Colin Stuart (brother of Bruins defensemen Mark Stuart) and Garnet Exelby, a member of the original Thrashers team, Kubina comes in with one year remaining on a deal that pays the Slovakian blue-liner five million dollars in 2009-10.
Kubina's coming off yet another 40 point season with the Maple Leafs and is best known for his contributions to the Tampa Bay Lightning during their 2003-04 Stanley Cup run. The 32 year old defensemen is looking to continue his success on the powerplay with the Thrashers already strong core of defensemen in Ron Hainsey, Tobias Enstrom and Zach Bogosian.
Personally, Bogosian is my pick to have a breakout year in Atlanta. The 19-year old defensemen from New York is coming off his first season in the NHL where he registered 19 points in 47 games, finishing with a +11. After proving to be a solid defensemen ready for the NHL, it'll be interesting to see how he performs on the newly revamped Thrashers.
In net for the Thrashers will be Kari Lehtonen. The Finnish netminder is coming off a 19-22-3 season with a .910 save percentage. Despite his disappointing record, Lehtonen put together a strong end to the Thrashers season as he went 6-3-0 in his nine starts in March and April with a 2.65 GAA and two shutouts. Is Lehtonen finally hitting his potential as he showed shades of doing in 2008-09 or will the Thrashers begin to look to utilize Johan Hedberg or even Ondrej Pavelec?
A name generating interest in Atlanta has been New York Ranger turned free agent winger Nikolai Zherdev. Following an arbitration hearing that led to Zherdev's exit from Manhattan, the 24 year old is officially an unrestricted free agent. Although many rumors have led to Zherdev leaving the NHL and joining the likes of Sergei Zubov and Sergei Federov as Russian born players to go back and play in their home country for tax-free contracts, his name is beginning to be thrown into the Thrashers mix. With over 9-million dollars in cap space still free, GM Don Waddell undoubtedly has the money to throw yet another U.S.S.R star.
Here's a preview of what the lines will look like when the Thrashers return to action.
Ilya Kovalchuk - Todd White - Nik Antropov
Slava Kozlov - Bryan Little - Colby Armstrong
Evander Kane - Rich Peverly - Marty Reasoner
Eric Boulton - Jim Slater - Brett Sterling
Extra Skater: Jordan LaVallee
Pavel Kubina - Zach Bogosian
Ron Hainsey - Tobias Enstrom
Boris Valabik - Anssi Salmela
Extra Skater: Noah Welch
Kari Lehtonen
Johan Hedberg
Can the Thrashers compete in the Southeast? It seems possible on paper, but with the strength of both Carolina and Washington it appears that the Thrashers will have to be patient and keep on building towards the future, with or without Ilya.
Players To Watch: It'll be interesting to see how Evander Kane performs in the first nine games of the season and see if he'll stick around with the big club or return to the Vancouver Giants for another season. Angelo Esposito could also be an x-factor for the Thrashers in 2009-10, as you remember, Esposito was the key component of the Marian Hossa trade from 2008.
Prediction: 3rd in Southeast Division. 11th in Eastern Conference.
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